A fire at the East Intercourse Island (EII) iron ore wharf of the British-Australian mining company Rio Tinto at Dampier Port on the Pilbara Coast of Western Australia has suspended ore transshipment at the port.
According to Rio Tinto, a fire broke out in the inspection hall at the pier on the evening of March 5, and it has already been taken under control. The mining company has yet to comment on the impact of the fire on its ability to ship iron ore.
"Nobody was hurt, an investigation has been launched to establish the cause of the fire," the press service of Rio Tinto said.
This is the third time that Western Australia's iron ore exports have been disrupted by wildfires in just over two years.
Rio Tinto is solely using the Dampier, which includes Berth EII with a capacity of 45 million tonnes of ore per annum and Parker Point and Cape Lambert berths with a capacity of 110 and 205 million tonnes, respectively. Other iron ore producers on the Pilbara Coast share multi-user facilities in Port Hedland.
Rio Tinto plans to ship 325-340 million tonnes of iron ore in 2021, shipping 330.6 million tonnes in 2020.
